First Amendment
| A bill allowing religious groups to operate freely faces an uncertain future in the deeply conservative state

by Bonnie Pritchett Posted 4/17/18, 02:54 pm

Oklahoma state lawmakers last week crippled a bill providing legal protection for religious adoption and foster care agencies that do not place children with same-sex couples. State Rep. Travis Dunlap, a Republican who co-authored the bill, hopes to scrub the unexpected changes before sending the measure to Gov. Mary Fallin, also a Republican. If Dunlap fails, the state likely will lose Christian agencies and churches that have played an integral role in reforming the state’s troubled foster care system.

First Amendment
| School supports anti-gun protest, but not pro-life walkout

by Bonnie Pritchett Posted 4/10/18, 07:33 pm

High school junior Brandon Gillespie learned Friday that administrators at his school would not accommodate a pro-life student walkout the same way they did an anti–gun violence demonstration last month.

First Amendment
| New report issues state free speech rankings based on political contribution laws

Bonnie Pritchett | 4/03/18, 02:00 pm

What political attributes do deep-red Alabama and deep-blue Oregon have in common?

Both states permit unlimited political campaign contributions by individuals, political parties, and political action committees (PACs). So do Nebraska, Utah, and Virginia. All five states share the top ranking in a first-of-its kind report by the Institute for Free Speech (IFS).

First Amendment
| A teacher who asked tough questions about walkouts is suspended, but one student takes her challenge seriously

Bonnie Pritchett | 3/27/18, 03:06 pm

Brandon Gillespie, a junior at Rocklin High School in northern California, put his history teacher’s theory to the test last week. He asked his school’s principal if school administrators would provide the same accommodations for a pro-life demonstration as they did for a March 14 anti–gun violence student walkout.

Bonnie Pritchett | 3/20/18, 03:58 pm

Advocates for Proposition 1, a ballot initiative to rescind part of an Anchorage, Alaska, nondiscrimination law, benefitted last week from an ad campaign money couldn’t buy. As ballots began arriving in mailboxes for the April 3 election, news broke that a man who identifies as a woman filed a complaint with the city because a local shelter for women refused him access.

Bonnie Pritchett | 3/13/18, 01:44 pm

On the eve of International Women’s Day, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a man who identifies as a woman, ignoring appeals to religious liberty and declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to those undergoing gender “transitioning.”

First Amendment
| The Christian college’s victory could set a precedent for others still fighting Obamacare’s contraceptive and abortifacient mandate

Bonnie Pritchett | 2/27/18, 03:39 pm

Wheaton College has secured what even the Little Sisters of the Poor has not: A permanent injunction against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive and abortifacient mandate. After five years of legal wrangling, a U.S. district court judge’s Feb. 22 ruling finally freed the college from the federal regulation.

First Amendment
| Case illustrates the importance of conscience protections for healthcare providers

Bonnie Pritchett | 2/20/18, 04:53 pm

A nurse in Illinois forced from her job in 2015 for her pro-life convictions can move forward with her lawsuit against the Winnebago County Health Department, a judge ruled last week. The case highlights the ongoing challenges Christian medical providers face amid eroding conscience protections and the importance of having state laws to protect them.